Machi Knows
by L. Hawthorne Black
Summary: Machi discovers Yuki's secret while he's sick. Will Machi still accept him? Will her memories get erased? YukixMachi and TohruxKyo. It's very appreaciated if you read and review ideas and coments.No flames please! Rated T for occasional swearing from Kyo.
1. Just a cough?

Machi walked through the halls to the student council room. Kimi, Kakeru, Naohito and Yuki were already there. Yuki looked a little paler than usual. She hoped that he was ok. It must have been a hard semester for him, with all of the student councils meetings and arrangement that he had to do. Her thoughts were soon interrupted.

"Kimi is hungry!" Kimi whined.

"Our lunch break is in twenty minutes." Yuki said, with a small cough. Now he had a cough too? Machi felt slightly uneasy. Was he alright? Yuki didn't normally get sick.

"Can we eat now? Please?" Kimi pleaded.

"Fine" Yuki answered, slightly annoyed.

"Yaaaay!" Kimi shouted, sprinting to the cafeteria. Kakeru and Naohito ran after her.

"Kimi, slow down!" Kakeru shouted. However, Yuki didn't seem to move.

"President, aren't you going to eat?" Machi asked.

"I'm not particularly hungry today." He coughed again. She gave a little wince of worry.

"Are you feeling alright?" There was a small pause. _Of course he wasn't alright_, she thought.

"Please, you don't need to worry about me. I'll be fine. I'm just a little tired I guess." Yuki did had seemed a bit sleepy today.

"Ok, sorry if I bothered you." She said nervously. Yuki quickly noticed this.

"It's fine. In fact, you're pretty nice to talk to Machi." Yuki smiled. Machi's cheeks turned scarlet.

"Thank you President. I'll see you after lunch." She left feeling a bit better. However, she was still ashamed that she couldn't even call him by his first name, yet he could say hers without a problem. Lunch felt odd knowing Yuki wasn't there, even if he didn't sit with them. Eventually, Tohru Honda came over to Machi.

"Sorry to bother you, it's just I was wondering where Yuki might be." She asked.

"He's still in the Student Council room. He said he wasn't hungry today." Tohru looked worried. "He said he would be fine, and I'm sure he wouldn't want you to worry about him." Machi smiled. Tohru was always caring about others, especially the Sohmas. She was even going out with Kyo Sohma, Yuki's cousin. After lunch, Machi walked eagerly to the student council room. She opened the door, but there was no one inside. The documents that Yuki had been working on were stacked on his desk. Machi's eyes widened. Yuki was nowhere in sight.

By the time Kakeru, Kimi and Naohito got back, it was time to get back to class. Machi walked back to class, her eyes searching the halls for Yuki. There was no sight of him and she went to class, unsuccessful. At the end of the school day, while everyone was headed out, Machi stepped into classroom D-1. The teacher looked at her with surprise.

"Machi, what are you doing here?" Mayuko asked.

"Well um, Yuki wasn't in the student council room when I got back from lunch and I was just wondering where he went." Machi explained, nervously.

"Oh, he had to be dismissed early today." Mayuko answered. Machi gave a small and quiet gasp. "He didn't feel too well and his guardian picked him up."

"Guardian?" Machi asked, curiously. Mayuko paused for a moment.

"I'm sorry. You weren't supposed to hear that." the teacher said.

"I won't tell anyone." Machi answered, just a bit too quickly.

"Well, you do keep your word pretty well, according to your teachers. I suppose I could tell you a little bit." Mayuko said. She set her stack of papers. "Yuki doesn't live with his parents. He lives with his older cousin, Shigure. The Sohma family is pretty large and the family doctor, Hatori, also came. They said that he would be back in school on Monday. It's a good thing it's Friday. He won't have to miss any school work." she paused for a moment. "Yuki, he also had to check in with a hospital about his condition. He's going to be fine, as far as I've been told." Machi was silent. Hospital? Condition? Guardian? It was like Yuki had a whole different life from what she thought she knew about him. One thing was for sure. She had to see that he was ok.


	2. Visits

**Sorry I haven't updated in forever! T_T I'm sorry! I've been busy reading all of your awesome stories!! Well, I hope you like this chapter. Ps. thanks to all of you that have read and reviewed!**

The next day, Machi headed out to Yuki's house. He had given her his address if she ever needed to hand in any late entries witht the student council. This didn't have anything to do with student council, but she figure that it was important enough. Soon, she found a large house in the middle of the woods. The house itself was pretty nice, but it's its location was unusal. After all, who lives so far away from others? Machi double checked the directions, but they were correct. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door.

"Hello?" a female's voice asked. It seemed too young to be Yuki's mother. Did he have a sister? But it was Tohru who opened the door. That was the last person she would have thought. Tohru smiled at Machi. "Oh, hi Machi! What brings you here?" Her tone was so welcoming and friendly, all Machi could do was give a small smile back.

"Uh, I was here to speak to the president. What are you doing here?" She asked. Really, what was Tohru doing at what was supposedto be Yuki's home.

"Oh, I live here." She grinned. Machi felt utterly embarassed. This wasn't Yuki's house, it was Tohru's.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought that this was the president's house." she apologized, starting to head in the other direction.

"No wait! This is Yuki's house. Kyo, Shigure, Yuki and I all live here." the girl explained.

"You live here with the president?" Machi asked.

"Well, yes. I used to live in a tent, but Yuki and Shigure found me and let me stay here. So in exchange, I do the cooking and cleaning."

"Oh." was all she could say. "Um well, is the president ok? I heard that he left school early and had an attack?" The attack was what worried her the most. Did Yuki get into a fight at school? No, he was never one for violence. But still, what did they mean by attack. The two girls walked into the kitchen.

"He's feeling better, but I still think that he should stay in bed." she answered. That was when a tall, dark haired man entered the room. He wore a gray robe and had dark brown eyes. He looked around 28 or so.

"Well, well, well." He smiled. "What a pretty young girl in our kitchen."

"No-um, I mean I'm not really that pretty-uhh." Machi stuttered.

"Hi Shigure. She's one of Yuki's friend from school." Tohru explained.

"She's a high school girl!" he cheered.

"Hey! What's all the racket in here?" Kyo enter the kitchen. He and Shigure started babbling, while Machi and Tohru talked.

"So what do you mean by attack?" she asked.

"Well, Yuki has really sensitive bronchial tubes and asthma. So if he isn't careful or when the weather gets too bad, he sometimes has asthma attacks. He hasn't had one in a while, but this one was a little more severe. Hatori-he's the Sohma family doctor-came to school to pick him up. He says that he's going to be ok, just needs to rest." Tohru answered. The two girls went upstairs and into Yuki's room. When they opened the door, they saw Yuki, asleep on his bed.

"Oh, he's asleep." the onijiri said.

"Could I stay here and wait for him to wake up?" Machi asked. Tohru nodded and smiled, heading back downstairs. Machi sat in the chair next to his bed. Yuki's breathing was a little heavier than normal, but not too much. Also, his skin was a bit more pale.

_He looks so exhausted. I hope he'll be ok._ she thought. After a few minutes, Yuki gave a soft stir and opened his violet eyes. They widened when he looked over to her.

"Machi?" he asked. "What are you doing here?" His voice wasn't upset or annoyed. It was actually just curious.

"You left school early today and I heard that you had an asthma attack. So, I came over to make sure that you were alright, president." she told him. He still seemed pretty drowsy, but he understood her.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you." Was he apologizing?

"Please. You don't have to apologize, really. I'm just glad that your ok." she replied.

"You know Machi, you can call me Yuki, if you like." He gave a one of a kind smile. She looked up at him.

"Ok...Yuki." she smiled. The word was the best one that she had ever said.

_Yuki...._


	3. discovery

**Hola, Bonjour, Buongiorno, Nihao, Konichiwa and HHHHIIII! How do you guys like the story so far? TvT I am blessed with wonderful veiwers! Anyway, enjoy the rest of the story!**

Over the next few days, Machi went over to Yuki's house. She was really starting to enjoy going over there and Yuki seemed to be getting better too. At first, she felt a little uncomfortable with Tohru living with him, but Tohru's kindness and cooking quickly won her over. Machi soon began to learn more and more about Yuki. He liked leeks, books and was awesome at martial arts. Apparently, the Sohma family was very large and wealthy.

He didn't like Kyo at all, though. But according to Tohru, they were slowly beginning to put up with each other more. The onijiri was hoping that they could some day be nice to each other. Machi didn't see that happening any time soon, but it was definitely a possibility. Before they knew it, Monday had arrived. Yet thankfully for her, they had just started spring vacation. Machi went upstairs as usual and into Yuki's room.

"Good afternoon, Machi." he smiled.

"Good afternoon, Yuki." she returned the smile. She loved saying his name and visiting him. It relieved her from all of the stress from the world. He really was like a prince.

"Would you like some lunch? Ms. Honda is making some soba noodles." He asked.

"Sure, thank you."

"No problem." he said, getting out of his bed. They headed down stairs together. Tohru had set the table, where five delicious bowls of soba noodles with miso soup and rice next them. Machi discovered that Tohru was probably one of the best cooks ever known to Japan the minute she tasted the food. It was like it was sent from the finest kitchen in the whole world. The others seemed to agree with the fantastic meal. After it was finished, Machi decided to help the onijiri with the dishes. That's how it started.

"Thanks again for helping me with the dishes." Tohru smiled. "You really didn't have to though and I hope it wasn't much toruble."

"I'm glad I could help out. Washing the dishes is probably the only good cleaning skills I have." she smiled back. However, as she walked over to put away the dish towel, she tripped over a crack in the floor. To make things worse, it was Kyo who she landed on. Immediately, there was a loud POOF and a large puff of orange smoke appeared. It sent both girls falling backwards onto Shigure and Yuki! Two more POOFs sounded off. The next thing Machi knew, she and Tohru were on the floor, there was a black dog next to Tohru, an angry orange cat beside them and a gray rat in the sink, which was full of water. For a few seconds, everyone froze.

"What the? How?What?" she rambled.

"Damn it! How are we going to explain this?" The cat shouted at the dog. Its voice sounded familiar, Kyo. She was sure of it. That's when it hit her.

"Oh my god!" she screamed. "I'm so sorry. I turned them into animals! Tohru, I turned them into animals! It's all my fault! How do we change them back? What if they don't change back? I didn't mean to! I turned them into animals!" she continued shouting, but it was to fast to understand.

"Uh, Machi? You didn't turn them into animals." Tohru explained. Machi froze.

"Then..then why did they transform when I fell on them?" she asked, starting to regain sanity.

"We transform into the twelve animals of the zodiac plus the cat, who as you can see still isn't living up to the phrase cat-like reflexes. I mean, that's the second he's let people fall on him." the dog, who Machi guessed was Shigure, answered.

"Will you shut up?" Kyo yelled.

"He's right you know, you should really learn to keep your guard up more." Yuki's voice came from the now drenched rat.

"Wait, so why did you transform right then?" she asked.

"We transform when we're hugged by a member of the opposite gender or when we're under a lot of stress, but we do change back only we're..." before Shigure could finish the sentence, there were three more POOFs. The three animals were now naked men. Machi and Tohru quickly spun around, the opposite direction. "Naked." the now human Shigure finished. After they were dressed, everyone sat down in the living room.

"How long has this been going on?" Machi asked.

"For generations" the novelist answered.

"Are there more of you?"

"Yes, there's thirteen of us in all." Machi looked over at Tohru.

"Does Tohru transform too?" she asked.

"No, but like I told you before, they found me out in a tent. Well, I kind of fell on Kyo too and found out the secret." the onijiri smiled. Machi sighed.

"Is there anything wrong?" Tohru asked.

"No, it's just a lot to take in."

"Would you like to come upstairs with me for a moment?" Yuki asked. She nodded,

noticing the worried and miserable expression he was wearing. Little did she know, Machi had only discovered one of the many secrets of the Sohma family.


	4. Private Conversation

**Hi again! Sorry about the delay on this chapter. I actually gave up for a little while, but now I'm back and ready to make more chapters! Anyway last time, Yuki asked Machi if he could talk to her privately. So, j****ust what will come out from this conversation? It's all in this chapter!**

Once they were in his room, Yuki sat down on his bed, not meeting Machi's eyes. There was a long silence before either of them spoke. Yuki was the first to break the silence.

"Machi?" he said. Her eyes hadn't left him once. She nodded, ready for him to continue.

"How do you feel...about it?" he asked, unsure how exactly to put it.

"It doesn't seem so bad, but I can see how it would become hard and difficult." she explained the best that she could.

"Not so bad? Machi, we're...we're monsters. Freaks of nature, demons. We were never meant to exist. How is that 'not so bad'?" He looked her straight in the eye. His eyes were full of confusion, hesitation and worry. But his words stung badly. _Monsters_? _Demons_? She didn't think that it was possible to think of Yuki that way.

"You're not." she hesitated, trying to find the best words. "You're not a monster, or a demon. Yuki...you could never be something like that." She walked closer to him, with a tiny smile forming at the edges of her lips. "Yuki...I'm glad you exist." He looked shocked by this, completely taken back. Machi was beginning to understand him more and more. He was always putting others ahead of him, considering them better than himself. He never wanted to be born into this, but it was him who had gotten it anyway.

_It must be hard,_ she thought. _Having to go through this, everyday. How could someone do it? A life without happiness or love or his own parents?_ She didn't know why he didn't live with his parents, but she did know that they must have known about his curse. And if they knew, they were cruel people to abandon him like that. _Didn't they realize that he needed them?_

They moved in closer, just a few inches apart. She gazed into his deep violet eyes, the most beautiful she had ever seen.

_He must have been so lonely._ Thoughts swirled around her head. _Was there ever anyone to help him? To tell him it was ok? To keeping on going? How could people be so awful to him?_

Theirs lips met, sending fireworks of excitement throught Machi's mind. She was actually kissing Yuki! And he was kissing her back! She hoped he was enjoying i as much as she was. They slowly broke apart, marveled at what had just happened. Machi felt like, for the first time ever, the happiest girl in the world. Yuki was smiling too, but she noticed something. Something on the back on his neck. Blood. She was positive that it was blood. But what had caused it? Did she do that too him? If she did, she hadn't even realized it and it looked like Yuki didn't either.

"Yuki...you're bleeding." She told him, her voice surprised, frightened and worried all at the same time, yet she showed no sign of panick the way Tohru would have. She was too unsure of whether it was her fault or not. Yuki followed her gaze to the back of his neck. He reached his hand back to feel it and winced. His hand was now a bright ruby red. He stared at it unbelievingly, but the pain was there to prove it.

_It must have been when he fell into the sink,_ Machi reminded herself. _How could I not have noticed it?_

She went around him to get a better view of the wound. There was a large and bloody gash right on the back of his neck.

"Hold on. I'll be right back." She told him, heading to the bathroom. There she got some bandages and a wet cloth. Machi returned as quickly as she could. She found Yuki in the same spot, only now with his hand once again on his neck. Yet, he smiled at her all the same. She walked over, but tripped over part of the mirror. It came crashing down. Machi landed on the floor, with her eyes clothes. She was ready for the shards of mirror to come attacking her, but they never came.

"Machi?" Yuki's voice asked, worried. He sounded close. Was she hurt? She didn't feel hurt, just a little surprised. Carefully, she opened her eyes. Right above her, was Yuki. He had jumped over her to protect her from the shattered glass. He had saved her. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"You're fast." she gave him a small smile. He was amazing. He was unbelievable. He was...rolling his eyes and smiling.


End file.
